PILLARBOXED

Last week, I wrapped principal photography on my most ambitious project yet. 6 years of thinking. 2 years of planning. 1 year of writing. A 3-month-long nationwide casting call. Over 350 crowdfunding contributors and more than 250 attendees at our crowdfunding party. A team of 50+ cast and crew members. 9 terabytes of footage. 1 story brought to life from my imagination <3 From high school teachers contributing to my campaign, to friends old and new, and even complete strangers who believed in me, I'm incredibly grateful for the village of people who helped me make my dream come true. A big shout out to my incredible cast, Eman Esfandi (Star Wars Ahsoka), Nazanin Nour (Big Mouth, Persia’s Got Talent) and Ayla Farmand (who had never acted before!) We are entering post-production and will be submitting to film festivals this Fall and crossing our fingers for an early 2025 premiere! If you are interested in helping us reach the finish line, please reach out as we are still taking contributions for post-production. And if you'd like to stay updated on our journey, follow us on Instagram @firewall.film I can't wait to share it with the world! More about the film: FIREWALL follows Ani, an Iranian-American girl in Texas longing for her father, lost and unreachable due to an internet firewall in politically turbulent Iran. When her father mysteriously returns, ancient Persian mythology intertwines with her reality, forcing her to confront the demons that have kept her from finding peace.

"If you have no sympathy for human pain, the name of Human you cannot claim." My new 1 minute experimental short film is dedicated to all who are denied the freedom to dance - especially in my Motherland of Iran ?? This poem called “Bani Adam” (“Sons of Adam” or “Human Beings”) is one of the most famous Persian poems written by Saadi in the 13th century. President Obama quoted it in 2009 when he wished Persians a Happy Nowruz and it was inscribed on a hand-made carpet at the United Nations in NYC in 2005, where it still stands today. This poem resonated with me, especially in this current age where it has seemingly become easy to forget that if one of us is in pain, all of us are. Thank you to Austin Asian American Film Festival for choosing me and giving me the creative freedom to create this bumper for this year's festival pre-show. And a big shout out to Anahita Bradberry and her beautiful installation “Sun Poem” which you can see on the Austin hike and bike trail at the Seaholm Intake Facility for a whole year! She's the coolest Iranian-American neon plasma sculptor you'll ever meet! Her installation and this space was a literal dream to shoot in ?? https://lnkd.in/gXK9abUr